#CJ speaks

[beaniebaneenie]

Approximately 30% of California's firefighters are incarcerated people being "loaned out" to risk their lives for a few dollars- without access to the top of the line equipment or to the high end medical insurance coverage that non-incarcerated firefighters have.

They do receive training, and spend years battling some of the most dangerous and intense fires in living memory (and in recorded history)... but they're generally ineligible to work the job once they've been released, due to the criminal charges on their record.

Propaganda around this practice says they get an early release and get the charges expunged. Neither is true.

There is a "possibility to qualify" for an EArly Release, which is not the same thing as guaranteed.

They have the option to "petition to have their charges sealed", which again, is not the same thing as guaranteed to have them expunged.

30% of California's firefighters are incarcerated people whose labor is stolen as they put their lives on the line.

And while this is a very egregious example of the practice of using inmate labor without pay, it's far from the only time it happens. A very high percentage of consumer goods that are "Made in America" are made by inmates who aren't being paid at all, or who are being paid pennies per hour. The average maximum daily wage is $3.45, and most "assignments" pay less than $15 per month.

This is the actual text of the 13th Amendment:

Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Except as punishment for a crime.

Slavery as punishment for a crime is legal.

Black and brown folks get arrested and convicted at highly disproportionate rates.

These things are inexorably linked.

[beaniebaneenie]

Looking at a piece of media that has two relatively important main characters who are both men, who do unquestionably have some type of history and some type of current energy, and deciding that No, actually, you don't ship them romantically... not as a past relationship, not as an AU, not as anything... that whatever their bond is or was, it's strictly platonic, that they just do not pop your corn that way (or even are a whole NoTP) does not mean you're automatically homophobic.

Even if they're popular.

Even if canon sorta winks at you and says they might have been a thing "if things were different".

It is okay to not dig on a ship, for whatever reason.

The only thing that isn't okay is to be a dilweed to other people about it.

[kissedvogue]

the conversation is always “i want to fall asleep cock/strapwarming” but not enough “i want to fall asleep with your back against my chest and my hand between your legs because nothing brings me more peace than hearing your frustrated whimpers”

[cljordan-imperium]

(My spirit animal is a wee hedgie, so that is how I henceforth shall be representing myself)

Revision and edits #3 done on my novel. 54,448 words. Gonna need beta readers very soon. *heavy sigh**very heavy sigh and nervous*

Start rev 4 tomorrow.

@saltysupercomputer @watermeezerswildwandering @pheita @writingmaidenwarrior @dreaminggoblin @toribookworm22

[lesbian-elrond]

Day in the life of me, a person who has severe contamination/infection OCD and also an autistic special interest in infectious disease

- had a half hour panic attack in which I ran out of my flat and paced around the city and cried because my mother sneezed

- immediately started watching a thriller series about Ebola

[copias-juicebox]

I wish all my mutuals and ghesties a very lovely, comforting and wholesome christmas time.

May you all only experience wonderful days filled with joy and happiness. 🎄🎁♥️

[theimperiumchronicles]

Happy spooky WBW! Today, I wanna ask about omens in your world. Do they exist? Are they believed in? Religiously, spiritually, or otherwise?

I know it's not Wed, and I know it's after Halloween, but for me "spooky season" extends all the way to Thanksgiving...so.... Answer below cut

@theimperiumchronicles - This is kind of a given. Yes. I mean...look at that world.

@the-andromeda-effect - Not really. They are purely human. They are a bit superstitious, but not really.

@battlegroundofdreams - Kind of. It's hard to explain. Superstitions again mostly.

@devil-in-the-details-ay - Oh yeah, there are omens upon omens. They are definitely believed in and feared. There are rarely good ones.

@behindthesemasks - YES! OH FUCK YES! Voodoo baby! Good, bad, just existing. There are messages from the ancestors. They will become more prevalent as the story goes on, but ooooohhh yes.

@bendingthelaws - Like @the-andromeda-effect, not really. Superstitions a little bit. They are human and there is no real magic.

@inopinatus-ea - Yes. Why and what kind will become more apparent later. There is magic, lots of it. And there are oracles. The oracles will point out the omens.

@magical-mistakes-vm - Does Vollrath have a temper? *smirk*

@mystsoftime - Yes. As you figure out what gods are in play and how, the omens become more visible. The players in the game will see them as they happen.

@tapperhet-em - Yes. There are gods and beings in play that will leave clues for the humans to find.

@princess-of-thieves-id - Of course! What good seaman doesn't believe in omens?

@whileyouwait-dm - Yep! Now, they might not always be caught until it's too late, but they are there.

Now...make sure you're paying attention so you too can try to catch them in the writing. *wink* @saltysupercomputer @pheita @frostedlemonwriter @watermeezer

@crowandmoonwriting @mama-ivy @jadeglas @ashirisu

@writingmaidenwarrior @abalonetea @littleshopofchaos

[thatrandomlemononyourcounter1]

a list of interesting people I saw at Adventureland today

Two lesbians who were aggressively making out in the roller coaster line and their friend who was 100% third wheeling (they said I was little :/)

a little girl in a FULL Nezuko cosplay

Two music teachers who were going on a FULL rant about their students, boss, and their school while we were at a place where one of their students could easily be

a little boy wearing Disney land ears who asked me if the ride was scary (I told him I didn’t know as I hadn’t been on the ride yet)

two blondes who looked so similar I thought they were sisters (they were friends) (one of them asked me where I got my overalls, I couldn’t tell her :(()

a group of little kids who were super affectionate with each other (they were cute til they cut me in line)

This random kid who was prolly like 12 who randomly started a conversation with me after a roller coaster (he got mad when I said the ride was fun ;-;)

That’s it

[gothicgaycowboy]

Thinking about how Ellie was probably the first person to make Joel laugh post outbreak and I’m about to

[cljordan-imperium]

I sit on a train for 18 hours to go from MS to IL. You know why? I don't get frisked. I can take full sized cosmetics. I don't have to deal with traffic - it's the same amount of time as driving, I can take all the food and drink I want, parts of the train don't fall off, the seats recline with foot rests, they have powe outlets....I could go on... Flying is a pain. If people have a safe and enjoyable option, they're going to take it. Like the OP, I love seeing the countryside. You see parts of Americana that you don't from the Interstate. You're safe. You're comfortable. Amtrak has a food car. They have ice water dispensers in each car. Yes, people will take the train. They already are with it being slower, and we LOVE it.

“Nobody’s going to want to sit on high-speed rail for fifteen hours to get from New York City to LA.”

Me. I will sit on high-speed rail for fifteen hours. I’ll sit on it for days. I’ll write and read and nap and eat and then do it all over again. I’ll stare out the windows and see America from ground level and not have to drive. I’ll see the Rockies and the deserts and cornfields and the Mississippi River and your house and yours and yours too. I’ll make up stories in my head about the small towns I see as we go along. I’ll see the states I’ve yet to see because driving or flying there is a fucking slog and expensive to boot. I’ll enjoy the ride as much as the destination. And then I’ll do it all over again to come the fuck home.

[beaniebaneenie]

🎉 (for the jewish ask thing!)

Favorite Chag (holiday)

This is an interesting question for me, especially in the current political climate. There are a lot of things I like about a lot of holidays, including the honey apple cake I make every year for Rosh Hashanah (even though it is a huge pain in the ass because it takes FOREVER).

But I think I'm actually going to say Hannukah.

Hear me out.

As a Jewish person, I spent YEARS reminding people that Christmas is not the only holiday that happens in winter, but also that Hannukah is not "Jewish Christmas". All of us are so used to the whole song and dance.

"no, it's not 'Jewish Christmas'. Just because it's in the winter doesn't mean it's the same holiday. It's not one of the High Holidays. It's not even that important."

A few years ago, when the "War on Christmas" fuckery was really ramping up, there was a popular tweet that made the rounds on Jwitter that said, "we're just saying, you don't hear us complaining about the War On Hannukah, and there actually WAS one."

Which is true. Hannukah is one of the 50% of our holidays that falls into the category: They tried to kill us, it didn't work, let's eat about it.

And the foods are incredible. Latkes, doughnuts, sufganiyot, basically anything fried and/or sweet or made with some type of oil? It's a Hannukah food.

But more than that, Hannukah is about community. It's about a light in the darkness (literally and figuratively, the candle and our people), one we were told would not survive.

Our hopes, dreams, traditions, our culture. From all directions, the message was clear: you will be snuffed out.

Hannukah is about us coming together and deciding that it may seem like a lost cause, but we will still fight for it. Because that light and our strength is fucking worth it. Because we cannot live with ourselves if we do anything less.

And because we fought, because we believed, and gave it everything we had, we did not lose. Our light kept shining.

True, it's not a High Holiday.

But I'm tired of saying that it's not a big deal, especially in view of the darkness that lies ahead. Sharing community, sharing light, and refusing to give up- no matter how deep the darkness or numerous the enemy- is so fucking important right now.

So, may your candles burn bright, and may the festival bring blessings upon you and yours. 💚

[kissedvogue]

tell me “i’m bored” and i’m going to eat you out until you forget how it feels to be anything other than overstimulated and desperate for my touch

[cljordan-imperium]

So...a thing happend...

A "routine" dental procedure didn't go as planned and a week later I look like I lost a fight but can now at least almost eat normal food again.

That is where I've been...

New stuff coming soon when the pain meds don't make me loooopy...

@pheita @saltysupercomputer @watermeezerswildwandering @writingmaidenwarrior

[beaniebaneenie]

Don't say, "I want a lawyer."

There are SO MANY cases and instances of people saying that exact sentence or a similar version thereof, and either police or their agents say, "well, I thought they were just making a statement, they didn't actually involve their right!"

There's the infamous case where a Black man said, "Get me a lawyer, dawg" and the police claimed they thought he wanted a dog who was also a lawyer. Despite the fucking absurdity of that claim, a judge ruled that the invocation of rights was not clear enough to count.

Say, "I am invoking my right to legal counsel, and I am invoking my right to remain silent."

And then SHUT THE FUCK UP.

You can ask, "Am I being detained?"

They will try to hem and haw and waffle around. Repeat the exact question. "Am I being detained?" until they give you a yes or no.

If no? FUCKING LEAVE.

If yes, "I am invoking my right to legal counsel, and I am invoking my right to remain silent." If you must speak again, this sentence becomes your mantra. Say it, and ONLY IT, over and over and over. Until your lawyer gets there, and then your lawyer will help you with the rest.

Unfortunately, "I want a lawyer" isn't good enough.

Also, bear in mind that while many jurisdictions have the right to detain you without evidence for a certain period (usually not more than 72 hours), legally, they are only allowed to do that in order to obtain evidence THAT THEY HAVE PROOF EXISTS. Not "to hold them in case any evidence shows up" or "this is the person we want to arrest but we don't have any evidence so we wanna hold them until we do".

There's almost certainly going to be a lot of rights getting trampled over the next few years.

Also worth bearing in mind that the folks in charge aren't going to give two shits if it's legal or not. "This right is federally protected" or "X is enshrined in the Constitution" isn't a deterrent to them. They do not care. Ultimately, the Constitution is just a very old piece of paper-

Unless we decide to fucking fight for it. Trump and his cronies and supporters have made it clear that they do not give a flying fart in space whether something is legal or not.

We do not obey in advance. We do not give up. And if necessary, we fight however possible to maintain our democracy, using the very words in the Declaration if we have to.

But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

If our government is abusive and despotic, we have the right and the responsibility to get rid of it and pick a new one.

Here's a legal PSA:

If you've committed a crime and a detective gathers everyone involved in the room, especially if he's not actually a detective and is instead a novelist, puzzle-setter, psychic, fake psychic, dog, chess grandmaster, etc. ...

YOU SHOULD NOT CONFESS.

Every year, hundreds of people are put away by non-traditional "detectives" who have either inserted themselves into the case or are working with the police in a dubiously legal capacity as advisor. In 99% of these cases, the murderer gives a full confession even though the evidence against them is circumstantial at best and often requires a long just-so story which can only guess at motive.

If this happens to you, stay quiet, do not attempt to defend yourself or talk your way out of it, only say "I want a lawyer".

Now if you find yourself being investigated by a boy genius, magician's assistant, anthropologist, classics scholar, or philosopher, it's likely that refusing to talk to the police (or investigator with no legal authority) is merely the end of the second act, and by the end of the third act they will have you dead to rights.

YOU SHOULD STILL NOT CONFESS.

Make them take it to court. Force the eccentric detective and his straight-laced police partner to take the stand and explain their methods to a jury of your peers. Have your lawyer look at the chain of custody on the evidence, especially if you believe it to have been handled by someone who has only bumbled into detective work through their natural charm and/or unique set of skills and outsider perspective that come in handy more often than they should.

Know your rights. Don't let eccentric detectives put you away.

[lesbian-elrond]

I've been saying I'm terrible at geography for years, because other people seem to have this innate knowledge of where things are that I do not have/have been trying to teach myself from scratch as an adult. It's only occurring to me now that we were never shown a world map (or even a map of europe) when I was at school....is that normal? Did yous get that? Anyway now I'm curious

Pls reblog and put your country in the tags!!

[copias-juicebox]

i‘m sick and tired of being sick, fuck!! 😒